How many people does it take to save a drowning baby?: A Good Samaritan statute in Washington state

Washington Law Review

Volumn 74, Issue 4, 1999, Pages 1181-1208

  Jain, Sungeeta ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0345759661     PISSN: 00430617     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (220)

1. Lute 10:25 (King James).
2. Luke 10:30-35 (King James).
3. Luke 10:36 (King James).
4. Luke 10:37 (King James).
5. Luke 10:38 (King James).
6. See A.D. Woozley, A Duty to Rescue: Some Thoughts on Criminal Liability, 69 Va. L. Rev. 1273, 1273-74 (1983);
7. John T. Pardun, Comment, Good Samaritan Laws: A Global Perspective, 20 Loy. LA. Int'l & Comp. L.J. 591, 594-97 (1998).
8. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 596.
9. See Peter M. Agulnick & Heidi V. Rivkin, Comment, Criminal Liability for Failure to Rescue: A Brief Survey of French and American Law, 8 Touro Int'l L. Rev. 93, 96 (1998).
10. See Charles O. Gregory, The Good Samaritan and the Bad: The Anglo-American Law, in The Good Samaritan and the Law 23, 24 (James M. Ratcliffe ed., 1966).
11. See John Gillie, Transforming Family Tragedy into New Hope for Others, News Trib. (Tacoma), Apr. 20, 1997, at B1; see also H.R. 1429, 56th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Wash. 1999).
12. See H.R. 1429, 56th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Wash. 1999).
13. Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 96 (quoting 1 James F. Stephen, A History of the Criminal Law of England 10 (1883)).
14. See id.
15. See Leslie Bender, An Overview of Feminist Torts Scholarship, 78 Cornell L. Rev. 575, 580 (1993).
16. See Kathleen E. Payne, Linking Tort Reform to Fairness and Moral Values, 1995 Det. C.L. Rev. 1207, 1236.
17. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 95.
18. See id.
19. See id.
20. See Thomas C. Galligan, Jr., Aiding and Altruism: A Mythopsycholegal Analysis, 27 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 439, 441 (1994).
21. 396 A.2d 1054 (Md. 1979). This is the principal case used to introduce law students to the no-duty-to-rescue doctrine in Sanford H. Kadish & Stephen J. Schulhofer, Criminal Law and Its Processes 181 (6th ed. 1995).
22. See Pope, 396 A.2d at 1058.
23. See id.
24. See id. at 1058-59.
25. See id. at 1059.
26. See id.
27. See id.
28. See id.
29. See id.
30. See id.
31. See id. at 1067.
32. See Bender, supra note 14, at 580; Jay Silver, The Duty to Rescue: A Reexamination and Proposal, 26 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 423, 424 (1985);
33. Robert Justin Lipkin, Comment, Beyond Good Samaritans and Moral Monsters: An Individualistic Justification of the General Legal Duty to Rescue, 31 UCLA L. Rev. 252, 276 (1983).
34. See Silver, supra note 31, at 424-25.
35. See id.
36. Aleksander W. Rudzinski, The Duty to Rescue: A Comparative Analysis, in The Good Samaritan and the Law, supra note 9, at 120.
37. See Silver, supra note 31, at 425.
38. See Steven J. Heyman, Foundations of the Duty to Rescue, 47 Vand. L. Rev. 673, 675 (1994).
39. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 98.
40. See id. at 98-99.
41. See Lipkin, supra note 31, at 263.
42. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 99.
43. See Daniel B. Yeager, A Radical Community of Aid: A Rejoinder to Opponents of Affirmative Duties to Help Strangers, 71 Wash. U. L.Q. 1, 10 (1993).
44. See, e.g., State v. Williquette, 385 N.W.2d 145, 154 (Wis. 1986) (finding mother guilty of child abuse for not taking action to stop her husband from repeatedly abusing her children).
45. See Westrup v. Commonwealth, 93 S.W. 646, 646 (Ky. 1906).
46. See People v. Beardsley, 113 N.W. 1128, 1131 (Mich. 1907).
47. See Rex v. Smith, 172 Eng. Rep. 203, 205 (1826) (discussing lack of duty between siblings but recognizing duty between master and servant).
48. See, e.g., United States v. Knowles, 26 F. Cas. 800, 802 (N.D. Cal. 1864) (No. 15,540).
49. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 101.
50. See People v. Montecino, 152 P.2d 5, 13 (Cal. Dist. Ct. App. 1944).
51. See Pope v. State, 396 A.2d 1054, 1063 (Md. 1979) (recognizing that babysitters owe duty to children they care for although hosts have no duty to rescue guests in their homes).
52. See Wayne R. LaFave & Austin W. Scott, Jr., Criminal Law § 3.3(a)(3) (2d ed. 1986).
53. See, e.g., Jones v. State, 43 N.E.2d 1017, 1018 (Ind. 1942) (finding defendant guilty of murder when he did nothing to rescue his rape victim who, immediately following rape, jumped into river and drowned); Commonwealth v. Cali, 141 N.E. 510, 511 (Mass. 1923) (finding defendant guilty of arson when, after accidentally starting fire, he failed to call fire department and did nothing to extinguish fire himself).
54. See, e.g., Tubbs v. Argus, 225 N.E.2d 841, 843 (Ind. Ct. App. 1967) (finding driver of car involved in car accident had duty to help injured passenger despite state's guest statute that limited liability of driver for passenger's injuries).
55. See Silver, supra note 31, at 426.
56. See LaFave & Scott, supra note 50, § 3.3(a)(4).
57. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 95.
58. See Kadish & Schulhofer, supra note 20, at 190; Anne Cucchiara Besser & Kalman J. Kaplan, The Good Samaritan: Jewish and American Legal Perspectives, 10 J.L. & Religion 193, 209 (1993-94).
59. See David C. Biggs, "The Good Samaritan Is Packing": An Overview of the Broadened Duty to Aid Your Fellowman, with the Modern Desire to Possess Concealed Weapons, 22 U. Dayton L. Rev. 225, 229 (1997).
60. See Galligan, supra note 19, at 457. Examples of the duty to control the conduct of others include "an employer's duty to protect third parties from harmful acts of his employees, and a carowner's duty to regulate the speed his chauffeur drives lest the car injure third parties." Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 103.
61. See, e.g., Tarasoff v. Regents of Univ. of Cal., 551 P.2d 334, 340 (Cal. 1976).
62. See LaFave & Scott, supra note 50, § 3.3(a)(7).
63. See Commonwealth v. Welansky, 55 N.E.2d 902, 910 (Mass. 1944).
64. See Yeager, supra note 41, at 5-8.
65. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 105.
66. Yeager, supra note 41, at 14.
67. See Silver, supra note 31, at 426; Pardun, supra note 6, at 598.
68. See Silver, supra note 31, at 423.
69. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 93-94.
70. See Diane Kiesel, Who Saw This Happen - States Move to Make Crime Bystanders Responsible, 69 A.B.A. J. 1208, 1208 (1983).
71. See id.
72. See id.
73. See id.
74. See Silver, supra note 31, at 423.
75. See id.
76. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 94.
77. See Silver, supra note 31, at 423.
78. 1967 Vt. Acts & Resolves 309 (Adj. Sess.), § 2-4 (codified at Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 519 (1997)).
79. Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 519(a) (1997).
80. See Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 519(c) (1997).
81. Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 519(b) (1997).
82. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 599; see also State v. Joyce, 433 A.2d 271 (Vt. 1981).
83. 433 A.2d 271 (Vt. 1981).
84. See id. at 272-73.
85. See id. at 273.
86. Id.
87. 1983 Minn. Law 623, Art 2, § 1 (codified at Minn. Stat. Ann. § 604A.01 (West 1999)).
88. See 12 Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 519 (1997); Yeager, supra note 41, at 14.
89. See Silver, supra note 31, at 427.
90. The Accused (Paramount Pictures 1988).
91. See Yeager, supra note 41, at 21.
92. See id.
93. See id.
94. See id.
95. See id.
96. See id.
97. See id. at 22.
98. Minn. Stat. Ann. § 604A.01 subd. 1 (West 1999).
99. Minn. Stat. Ann. § 604A.01 subd. 2 (West 1999).
100. See Minn. Stat. Ann. § 604A.01 subd. 1.
101. Minn. Stat. Ann. § 604A.01 subd. 1.
102. Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 519(a) (1997).
103. See Minn. Stat. Ann. § 604A.01 subd. 1.
104. See Minn. Stat. Ann. § 604A.01 subd. 1.
105. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 597 (citing Allie Shah, How Good Is "Good Samaritan" Legislation? It's Hard to Enforce Lending Helping Hand, Star-Trib. (Mpls.-St. Paul), Sept. 18, 1997, at 1B).
106. See id. at 606.
107. 1983 Wis. Laws 198, § 1 (codified at Wis. Stat. Ann. § 940.34 (West 1996)).
108. Wis. Stat. Ann. § 940.34(2)(a) (West 1996).
109. See Wis. Stat. Ann. § 940.34(2)(d) (West 1996).
110. See Wis. Stat. Ann. § 940.34(3) (West 1996).
111. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 600.
112. 521 N.W.2d 448 (Wis. 1994); see also Pardun, supra note 6, at 600.
113. See LaPlante, 521 N.W.2d at 449-51.
114. See id. at 443; Pardun, supra note 6, at 600.
115. See Biggs, supra note 57, at 242.
116. See William Dauber, Mother of Slain Man Crusades for New Law, Seattle Times, June 13, 1996, at B1. However, Washington has a statute imposing on individuals a duty to notify law enforcement authorities if the individuals witness a violent felony. See Wash. Rev. Code § 9.69.100 (1998). Persons who fail to do so face a charge of gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $5000 fine. See Wash. Rev. Code § 9.92.020 (1998). Some commentators have referred to this statute as a type of Good Samaritan law. See, e.g., Yeager, supra note 41, at 6. However, from the text of the statute, the purpose appears to be catching the criminal, not aiding the victim. See id.
117. See Kathy George, Federal Way Boy Drowns - Pals Don't Seek Help, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 2, 1998, at B1 (summarizing history of Joey Levick Bill).
118. See H.R. 1429, 56th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Wash. 1999).
119. See Jennifer McCoy, Law Would Force Bystanders to Help - Parents of Slain Teen Argue for Legislation, Seattle Times, Jan. 30, 1997, at B3.
120. See Amy Corneliussen, Friends Testify They Didn't Mean for Roadside Beating to Kill Man, News Trib. (Tacoma), Oct. 27, 1994, at B1.
121. See id.
122. See id.
123. See id.
124. See Nancy Bartley, Innocent Bystanders No More - Victim's Parents Want Call for Help to Be Law, Seattle Times, Dec. 13, 1996, at B1.
125. See Arthur C. Gorlick, Slaying Sparks Drive for 'Joey Levick Bill', Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 14, 1996, at B1.
126. See id.
127. See id.
128. See id.
129. See id.
130. See id.
131. See id.
132. See id.
133. See Corneliussen, supra note 118, at B1. But see Barry Siegel, Beyond the Reach of the Law, L.A. Times, Aug. 20, 1996, at A1 (indicating that girlfriend of one defendant may have tried calling 911 earlier, but no ambulance was dispatched because of vagueness of information she gave).
134. See Nancy Bartley, Accused Killer Charged with Harassment, Seattle Times, Oct. 8, 1997, at B1.
135. See id.
136. See id.
137. See id.; see also State v. Soler, Nos. 36068-0-I, 36179-1-I, 1998 WL 300535, at *1 (Wash. Ct. App. June 8, 1998).
138. See Man Enters Alford Plea in Slaying, Seattle Times, Feb. 26, 1999, at B2. A defendant making an Alford plea denies guilt but agrees that if the case goes to trial he or she will be found guilty. See generally North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970).
139. See Amy Corneliussen, Jury Convicts 2 in Beating Death of Federal Way Man, News Trib. (Tacoma), Nov. 15, 1994, at B1.
140. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 596.
141. See Cheryl Reid, In Son's Memory, Mother Seeks Law; A Woman Whose Only Child Was Murdered Fights to Make It a Crime to Refuse to Render Aid, News Trib. (Tacoma), Jan. 8, 1996, at B1.
142. H.R. 1429, 56th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Wash. 1999). The quoted text is taken from the most recent version of the bill. For a discussion of the initial draft of the legislation, see Melody J. Stewart, How Making the Failure to Assist Illegal Fails to Assist: An Observation of Expanding Criminal Omission Liability, 25 Am. J. Crim. L. 385, 390 (1998) (citing legislative history). A subsequent version of the bill can be found at H.R. 1186, § 1(b), 55th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Wash. 1997).
143. See H.R. 1429, 56th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Wash. 1999).
144. See id.
145. Since the tragic 1997 death of Princess Diana in France, a country with Good Samaritan laws, the issue has once again become a point of heated debate. Photographers, who were the first to arrive at the scene of Princess Diana's accident, allegedly snapped photographs of her body instead of assisting her and her companions who were stuck in the car. As a result, authorities investigated seven photographers for possible violations of France's Good Samaritan law. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 93. Also, in 1998, the much-anticipated final episode of the hit television sitcom Seinfeld centered around a Good Samaritan law. In the episode, Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer watched with amusement as a thief held up a man not more than a few feet from where they stood, stealing his car. With cellular phone and video camera in hand, they ridiculed the victim, snickering at his obesity. Their laughter soon turned to tears, as the police hauled the foursome off to jail under Latham, Massachusetts', new Good Samaritan law. See Seinfeld (NBC television broadcast, May 14, 1998).
146. See Bender, supra note 14, at 580; Silver, supra note 31, at 423; Lipkin, supra note 31, at 276; infra Part IV.A.
147. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 604-05.
148. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 97.
149. See Payne, supra note 15, at 1239; Pardun, supra note 6, at 605.
150. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 96.
151. See id.
152. See id.
153. See Lipkin, supra note 31, at 277.
154. See Silver, supra note 31, at 429.
155. Lipkin, supra note 31, at 277 (citing Buch v. Amory Mfg. Co., 44 A. 809, 810 (N.H. 1897)).
156. See id.
157. See id. at 287.
158. See id. at 288.
159. See id.
160. See id.
161. See id. at 278-79.
162. See id. at 288.
163. Id. at 288-89 (footnotes omitted).
164. See id. at 289.
165. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 604-05.
166. See Richard Seven, 31-Year Term Given in Murder of Samaritan - Judge Cites Teen's History of Bad Choices, Seattle Times, Dec. 24, 1994, at A1.
167. Christy Scattarella, Good Samaritan Won't Help Again - Motorist Accused of Robbing Woman Who Stopped to Aid Him, Seattle Times, Apr. 6, 1994, at B1.
168. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 604-05.
169. See id.
170. See H.R. 1429, 56th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Wash. 1999).
171. See id.
172. Id.
173. Id.
174. See supra note 164 and accompanying text.
175. See supra note 165 and accompanying text.
176. See Woozley, supra note 6, at 1276.
177. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 97; Pardun, supra note 6, at 608.
178. See Stewart, supra note 140, at 424.
179. See Yeager, supra note 41, at 15-18.
180. See id. at 10 n.49.
181. See id. at 10; Stewart, supra note 140, at 424.
182. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 97; Pardun, supra note 6, at 608.
183. See Gardner v. Loomis Armored, Inc., 128 Wash. 2d 931, 949, 913 P.2d 377, 386 (1996) (stating that "[s]ociety places the highest priority on the protection of human life"); see also Wash. Rev. Code § 9.69.100 (1998) (requiring witnesses of violent crimes to report them to officials); Wash. Rev. Code §§ 7.69.010, 9.01.055, 9A.76.020, 9A.76.030 (1998) (encouraging citizens to aid law enforcement officers).
184. See Payne, supra note 15, at 1240.
185. See Yeager, supra note 41, at 15-18.
186. See Galligan, supra note 19, at 490. "Traditional Western psychological models of behavior have assumed that people act out of self-interest. For instance, Freud's psychological model of the id, ego, and the superego, with his pleasure principle playing a key role in human development, contemplated that people act in their self-interest." Id. at 490-91.
187. See Anthony D'Amato, The "Bad Samaritan" Paradigm, 70 Nw. U. L. Rev. 798, 809 (1976).
188. See id.
189. See id. at 810.
190. See Silver, supra note 31, at 433.
191. See id.
192. However, to achieve these benefits, states must advertise the statute.
193. See Yeager, supra note 41, at 15-18.
194. See Viola C. Brady, Note, The Duty to Rescue in Tort Law: Implication of Research on Altruism, 55 Ind. L.J. 551, 557 (1980).
195. A study of students from different countries illustrated that when students knew that there was a legal duty to aid, they reacted more positively to the duty to aid and judged people's failure to aid more harshly. "Breaking the law was itself viewed as immoral, thus intensifying the opprobrium directed at the actor's behavior." Marc A. Franklin, Vermont Requires Rescue: A Comment, 25 Stan. L. Rev. 51, 58-59 (1973).
196. Payne, supra note 15, at 1240.
197. See Lipkin, supra note 31, at 255-57.
198. See James Barr Ames, Law and Morals, in The Good Samaritan and the Law, supra note 9, at 1.
199. See id. at 4.
200. See id. at 2. However, in the case of self-defense, although under the law the defendant was liable, the law required the judge to inform the king that the killing had occurred in self-defense. See id. The king in turn had the power to pardon the defendant if he so pleased. See id.
201. See id. at 4.
202. See id. at 20.
203. See Thomas B. Stoddard, Bleeding Heart: Reflections on Using the Law to Make Social Change, 72 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 967, 971 (1997).
204. Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000a-2000h (1994)).
205. See Stoddard, supra note 201, at 973.
206. See id. at 974.
207. See id.
208. See John L. Diamond, The Myth of Morality and Fault in Criminal Law Doctrine, 34 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 111, 111 (1996).
209. See John L. Diamond, The Crisis in the Ideology of Crime, 31 Ind. L. Rev. 291, 292-93 (1998).
210. See id. at 292.
211. See id.
212. See id.
213. See id. at 292-93.
214. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 605.
215. See id.
216. See Payne, supra note 15, at 1239.
217. See id. (quoting Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law 174 (3d ed. 1986)).
218. See Agulnick & Rivkin, supra note 8, at 97.
219. See Payne, supra note 15, at 1241.
220. See Pardun, supra note 6, at 608.